One Piece The Scarred Pirates: Gathering the Crew
by TheRealEvanSG
Summary: Story has been canceled. Fans can find Raiden and his crew in future chapters of "The Adventures of Monkey D Lucy", a post-canon One Piece fanfic I'm writing.
1. Chapter 1

**South Blue Arc**

Chapter 1: Raiden Gains Devil Fruit Powers? Enemy Ship Spotted

Seagulls called out in the sky. The waves rolled gently in the breeze. It was a calm, clear day, and for a normal person, it would have been peaceful and quiet. But being a member of the Pirates of the Long Nose meant that there was almost never a peaceful _or_ quiet moment, and unfortunately for Raiden, he'd been forced into this crew long ago.

He tapped a finger on the rail of the boat, hoping that none of his much older and much heavier muscled shipmates didn't shake off the effects of the beer they'd drunk, came up here, and found him here. If that happened, he'd be swimming with the fishes for sure.

As the boy stared nostalgically out into the sea, he thought about his past. If only he could find them again. His family… his brother and sister, mother and father. They were somewhere out there beyond the blue waves. Somewhere…

Raiden Matsumoto sighed. A thin memory of his first day on board Captain Daichi's ship faded into his mind. He recalled the fearsome captain's terrible flag, a white skull with an unusually long nose that stood out against a black background. Although the men were sleeping off their liquor in the lower parts of the ship, Raiden could almost hear them yelling, far away in the distance, just like he'd heard them when the Long Nose Pirates first landed on his island.

He blinked, shaking himself out of the memory.

No. Wait. It wasn't that he could _almost _hear men shouting in the distance; he _did _hear them. Raiden squinted, looked out to sea again, and gasped in alarm.

_A skull and crossbones!_

* * *

"Pirates! Pirate ship spotted! Hey, guys, wake up or we'll be killed!"

Raiden had ran down to the dining cabin, where all the Long Nose Pirates were snoring, more drunk than an ant in a barrel of ale. The teen slapped their faces, and when that didn't rouse them, hurried to the drawing machine, drew a bucket of cold water, and splashed it over everyone.

"Guh… what?" One guy said stupidly.

"I saw pirates!" Raiden shouted.

If they weren't awake from the cold water, they definitely were now. Captain Daichi, who'd been greedily counting his money in the captain's quarters, burst in the large cabin, having been lured by the sound of war whoops.

"What's going on?" the captain asked, brandishing a thick sickle.

"Other pirates, Cap'n," Raiden said.

"Yes? What about them?"

"I spotted them on the horizon, sir."

The cruel, greedy captain grinned. Laughing evilly, Daichi spread out his hands and stepped forward. "Alright, men! Prepare for battle! Change course and set your eyes on these pirates! Let's see if they can put up a fight, shall we?"

"Yeah!" the men roared.

A light lit in Raiden's eyes. Perhaps he could finally escape this terrible crew. Maybe… just maybe, today would be the day he could be free to gather his own crew, and search for the elusive One Piece himself, and become king of the pirates!

* * *

_Blam!_

The cannonball ripped through the ship's wooden frame, sending pieces of lumber everywhere. The men on board shouted in anger and drew their weapons, looking for the enemy.

Below deck, a sixteen-year-old boy set down the cup he'd been drinking tea from and arched an eyebrow. _Looks like we have company_. He reached behind his back with both arms, crossing them, and unsheathed two swords that hung on his spine in a giant "x". He glanced at the chest beside him, which held a piece of fruit more valuable than all the treasure he could carry.

It was a Devil Fruit. The Wind-Wind Devil Fruit, to be exact.

He threw his left sword up in the air. It spun three times before he caught it. "The captain may have given me the job of protecting this stupid fruit," he said to himself, "but my name's Miki Kuroki, and I wanna be where the fighting is!"

With that, he pointed his swords behind him and charged out of the cargo hold, leading the Wind-Wind Fruit unprotected.

* * *

The Long Nose Pirates gathered on deck, brandishing their weapons. Some carried swords, while others carried guns, and still others carried lances and axes. Raiden was OK with a sword, but he knew he was better using martial arts (open-handed fighting). He was actually very strong, but his fellow crew members believed him to be weak, a result of the fact that he'd hid his true power until he could get a chance to escape.

_Alright, this is it,_ Raiden thought. _I'll board the enemy's ship, hide until all the fighting is over, and then while everyone's busy loading the loot into our cargo hold, I'll steal this ship and leave._

The traitor helped him throw a rope attached to a harpoon at the enemy ship, like his crew mates were doing. While the pirates charged up their ropes to the bigger ship, Raiden stayed behind, watching as the battle broke out.

"What are you doing, runt?" said a familiar voice from behind him. "_Why are you still here!?_"

_Crap_. He gulped, a bead of sweat trickling down cheek. Raiden nervously looked back. _Uh oh_.

Standing there was Daichi, face red with anger. "Invade that ship, dammit!" The corrupt captain swung his heavy sickle back like a golf club, then smacked Raiden so hard on the butt that he was thrown into the air, tossing and turning head over heals. He crashed to the deck of the enemy ship and groaned. Man, were Daichi's hits hard. Raiden picked himself up and looked around. The fighting had moved farther down into the bottom of the ship, and anyone still on the deck had already been defeated.

_I'll sneak into the cargo hold to make it look like I'm stealing their treasure, _he decided.

Raiden ran to the steps leading into the bowels of the ship and dashed down them. As he ran along the corridor at the foot of the stairs, he saw one-on-one battles taking place all over. Blood stained the walls and floor, forming puddles on the light brown wood. At the opposite end of the hall, next to a door that sported a plate with a crown on it (which Raiden assumed was the ship's captain's quarters), he saw a kid no older than him fending off five pirates with just two swords.

_Wait... a teen using the Two Swords Style? _Raiden thought, watching in awe. _Could it be... the famous swordsman, Miki Kuroki?__ He's said to be one of the strongest swordsmen in the South Blue, even though he's barely older than me! I want him on my crew, if possible._

Raiden blinked and once more began running to the ship's cargo hold. He descended more levels of the ship, dodging attacks from enemy pirates and dealing some punches of his own. After taking out more than a few men, he finally found the cargo hold and slipped inside, carefully shutting the door behind him.

He sneezed. "Achoo!" It was dusty in here, and his nose didn't much appreciate it.

Raiden looked around the dark cabin. The back wall was stacked high with treasure, but most of the space was taken up with spare luggage and lumber, for repairs. There were also some chests packed with food. Next to the pile of treasure sat a small chest, to small for a large amount of treasure. The boy wondered what was inside it, but a lock had been placed on the seam.

"I'll kick it open," he decided aloud.

_Da-ring!_

Raiden's kick was so powerful, the lock snapped open and fell to the ground with a metallic vibration. He opened the chest and looked inside expectantly. But all that was there was...

"A fruit?" he moaned. "Why just a fruit?"

He was about to close the lid again when he noticed something strange about the fruit. It appeared to be a plum at first glance, but when Raiden looked closer, he saw that its skin had swirls of a lighter purple color, almost a pink.

"Could it be... a Devil Fruit?"

Raiden picked it up and examined it. _No doubt about it, _he confirmed to himself. _This is no ordinary plum. And the fact that it was in a locked chest of its own proves my theory. I wonder what kind it is, though... Oh well. I might as well eat it, since I can't swim anyway._

And with that, he ate the fruit.


	2. Chapter 2

**South Blue Arc**

Chapter 2: The Fight With Daichi Begins! "I Can Fly!"

Raiden opened his mouth wide and took a bite of the unique plum, tearing half of it off. It tasted like a normal plum, except sweeter. He chewed it thoughtfully and swallowed, but before he could finish it off, someone burst in the cargo hold through the door, making him jump.

_Uh oh. Not good_. The young pirate turned around slowly, hiding the Devil Fruit behind his back.

Raiden looked at the person who'd just come in, hoping it wasn't his captain.

It wasn't. Instead, it was the Two Swords Style user he'd seen earlier, an enemy.

"Who are you?" The swordsman asked.

Raiden fidgeted nervously. "Uh… My name's Raiden Matsumoto. I'm from the Long Nose Pirates," he admitted, but added quickly, "but it's not like I _want_ to be with them! They kidnapped me! Anyway, judging from the fact that you're my age and you fight with two swords, I assume you're Miki Kuroki. Am I right?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah, that's me. What are you doing down here, and what are you hiding behind your back?"

_Oh, no. This is bad. Really bad._ Raiden thought, gulping._ Miki's something of a legend, even among the Long Noses! After all, he saved his village from a group of fishmen at the age of only ten by defeating their leader! If I get on his bad side…_

He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head, bringing out the Devil Fruit and hoping that Miki wouldn't know what it was. "I was hungry and followed my nose down here, where I found this plum, plus a lot of other food! Y-you see, we're running low on supplies, and I can't fight on an empty stomach—not that I'd pose much of a threat anyway. Heh."

Miki's eyes widened in horror. "Do you know what that _is_?" he asked. "It's a Devil Fruit, damn it!"

Raiden quickly ate the rest of it, spitting out its pit. "A Devil Fruit? Never heard of them," he lied.

"That particular fruit was the Wind-Wind Fruit. It'll give you powers over the wind, but none of this crew was willing to eat it, because once you consume a Devil Fruit, you lose your ability to swim-forever!"

"Oh, no!" Raiden said, pretending to be shocked. "You mean... I can't swim now? I'll just sink to the bottom of the ocean?!"

"Yeah," Miki confirmed, nodding. "But you _do _get powers over air, so you might be able to stop your fall, or at least slow it down long enough for someone to help you."

"Cool," Raiden said. "Could I like, fly?"

"Huh. Potentially, I suppose."

"Awesome!"

"With all that aside, you _are_ an enemy pirate. I suppose I will have to kill you, even though you're young, like me," said Miki sadly. "I don't like hurting people, especially not kids like you and I, but I have my duties."

Raiden's eye twitched nervously and he held up his hands in the universal sign of peace. "Nuh-no... please don't do that! I can't die yet; I haven't become the Pirate King yet, or even became captain of my own crew! Until that day comes, I _can't_ die!"

Miki, who'd just unsheathed a sword and had prepared to take a swing, stopped. "So... you want to inherit Gol D. Roger's title and find the One Piece?"

Raiden nodded quickly. "Yeah! First I gotta defeat Captain Daichi, though."

Miki sheathed the sword. "So, I take it you don't much like this Daichi person."

"No, not at all. 'Long Nose' Daichi kidnapped me from my village because I was a decent fighter. I haven't seen any of my family since."

"That's too bad. I'm sorry that happened to you."

"Thanks."

"So... if you defeat this Captain Daichi in battle, would you and your crew leave us alone?" Miki proposed.

Raiden nodded. "Yeah. I'll become captain if I defeat him, and order the guys to stop attacking."

The Two Swords Style user smiled and shook his hand. "You know, Raiden, I had my doubts, but you're not such a bad guy!"

* * *

"HEY! DAICHI!" Raiden shouted.

He'd made his way back up to the deck of Miki's ship and was trying to get his captain's attention to start a duel. Both he and the corrupt man fought open-handed, and since he'd been kidnapped, Raiden had greatly improved his skill in secret. With that fact, coupled with the Devil Fruit's powers, the boy assumed he had aout a fifty-fifty chance of defeating his captain, even though Daichi had a ten-million-berry bounty on his head.

_If fate grants me a victory,_ he decided, _I'll turn that man into the Marines and collect his reward. But I can't let them know that I'm a pirate, too._

"HEY! Come out, wherever you are! It's me, Raiden! I want to fight you!"

A bellow of laughter echoed from Long Nose's ship, and the captain himself appeared at the boat's front. "Me? A lowly crew member like _you_ wants to challenge a man like _me_? Ha! This is treachery. I'll smash you into the sea with my fists!"

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, sir! I have Devil Fruit powers now!" Raiden boasted.

The rest of the crew, most of which had by now returned to the deck of Daichi's ship, laughed, jeered and called out to him:

"You'll never win, chore boy!"

"A runt like you wouldn't even lay a finger on our captain, much less defeat him!"

Long Nose Daichi's eyes narrowed. "Devil Fruit powers? Since when did you have Devil Fruit powers?"

"Since I boarded this ship!" Raiden said with a defiant smile.

"I'll pulverize you for your insolence!" bellowed the cruel man, and he dashed along one of the harnesses that had been attached to Miki's captain's ship earlier in the day. Daichi raised his fist (which was larger than normal) and threw a punch, but Raiden ducked under it and returned the favor.

"Brat," said the captain.

"Get him, boss!" the Long Nose Pirates cheered. "Mash him like potatoes!"

Daichi attempted to sweep Raiden's legs out from under him. _Like that's gonna happen_, the boy thought, and jumped over his captain's foot.

_Woah! What the-_

The air rushed by his cheeks, surprising him. The deck gew smaller and smaller, and Daichi was looking up at him in shock. _Wait... _Raiden thought._ The deck is getting smaller? He's looking up? There's wind rushing past my cheeks?_

_I'm not just jumping, _the young pirate realized, startled. _I'm flying!_


End file.
